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Manannan (KQ)
Manannan Mac Lir (Manannan for short) is an extremely old and thoroughly evil wizard of the Magicians' Guild. His Family of Evil includes his brother Mordack and sister Hagatha. He ruled as the tyrant of Llewdor for many years, although he was detached from the kingdom and cared little for the well-being of the people there. Despite his power, Manannan is of a very frail appearance -- except for the notable strength in his eyes, which are said to be black as coal. Manannan was a man of ritual and habit. Everything he did followed a strict schedule -- his baths, sleeps, and studies lasted for the same amount of time each day. When he went to sleep, it was always with the same amount of the same brandy he favored. Even his regularly occuring journeys would last for the exact same amount of time each time. He made a tradition of capturing infants and raising them as his slaves. Though he intended to kill each of them on their eighteenth birthday, he ensured that they all learned to read simply because he hated ignorance. He did, however, monitor every book that his slaves read in what little spare time he afforded them. History There are many stories about a most powerful weather wizard by the name of Manannan Mac Lir (Manannan son of Lir), after whom the Island of Man in the Irish Sea is named. It is said that Manannan had a magic horse that could travel easily across both the land the waves, had a magic ship that could take him anywhere without the use of a sail or oar (in which he could ferry the dead to Arawn's underworld), raised storms at will, wore armor, which shone as bright as the sun and which could not be pierced, and possessed a cloak of invisibility-and these are just some of the wonders that surrounded him. It is also said that Manannan had a special fondness for the Irish. There are even stories that link Manannan with a Welsh hero by the name of Gwydion. Curiously, he is said to be the most happy and generous of wizards who brought happiness to all around him. But in Llewdor he was not so benevolent.KQC2E, pg Manannan is the first known person to have possession of the Eye Between the Worlds (with perhaps the exception Pope Sylvester or the Wanderer), although it is unclear what use he made of it. After learning that his sister's captive Valanice had been freed by Graham, Manannan set his sights on their new son. He kidnapped the boy from the shores of Lake Maylie by casting a sleep spell on the family while they picnicked, and then raised him as a slave, calling him Gwydion. (It might be noted that a few disparate reports claim the child was stolen from his crib in Castle Daventry.) Manannan maintained a watchful and detached eye not only over Llewdor, but also over the Kingdom of Daventry during the time he raised Gwydion as a slave. He was not in control of the Three-Headed Dragon but he reveled in the destruction that it wrought. Some believe that it was he let the dragon loose on the kingdom. Some also say that it was Manannan's dark magic which clouded Merlin's Mirror. Manannan's interest, however cold, in the rest of the world caused him to travel with some regularity. The exact reasons behind these journeys are unknown -- they may have been part of his responsibilities as a member of the Magicians' Guild or they may have had some darker purpose. Still, when Gwydion was old enough it became a regular occurence that he was left alone at Manannan's Estate. To Heir is Human Manannan's life carried on as usual for nearly 18 years. Unbeknownst to the wizard, his most recent slave had been taking full advantage of his time left alone in the wizard's house. He had uncovered Manannan's Laboratory and delved into some of the secrets of The Sorcery of Old. The boy poisoned the wizard's porridge with a Cat Cookie and turned him into a cat -- much like Manannan had done to his own rival so long ago. Gwydion left the cat in the house as he made his escape. It is not exactly known what became of Manannan at this point -- when Derek Karlavaegen returned to the estate, there was no sign of any animals at all. It is possible the feline wizard made his own escape and wandered the world until connecting with his brother Mordack -- or, perhaps, Mordack sought out his brother. Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder Manannan eventually made his home on Mordack's island. Together, they attempted to find a way to return the feline into his human form. Unable to succeed, Mordack captured Castle Daventry and the royal family, except for Graham, with it. Unfortunately, Alexander did not know how to reverse the spell and Manannan remained in his cat form. When Graham infiltrated Mordack's island, Manannan encountered him after he escaped from Mordack's Dungeon. Rather than allow the cat to alert Mordack to the king's presence, Graham distracted the cat with a dead fish and then caught him in an empty bag. This is the last known sighting of the malicious wizard-turned-feline and his current whereabouts are unknown. Images 380px-KQ3box.jpg|Manannan on the KQ3 Box Art 381px-KQC2E.jpg|Manannan on the King's Quest Companion (Second Edition) cover Non-Canon AGDI Universe Manannan is a member of the Black Cloak Society and the sibling of Hagatha and Mordack. He is a creature of habit, routinely enslaving an infant and raising him as a slave named Gwydion. As the first of these slaves became too curious and discovered magic, Manannan killed him on his 18th birthday. This became part of the tradition -- although Manannan was sure to keep a strand of the boys' hair for reasons unknown. The powerful wizard rules over Llewdor tyrannically, but protects the nation with his spells over weather and sea. Manannan had written a letter to Hagatha to discuss the plans and activities of the Father, as well as the approaching birthday of his current slave and Mordack's growing interest in women. Since Hagatha was soundly defeated in this version, it provides extra incentive for the wizard's vengeance against Graham. The slave mentioned in the letter proved to be more of a handful than Manannan's usual slaves. This Gwydion discovered the evil wizard's lab and spellbook, and very nearly succeeded in creating a "cat cookie" to exact revenge upon the wizard. Unfortunately, he had not succeeded by the time of his 18th birthday. The Father suggests to Manannan that taking Alexander as his next slave might be suitable. Manannan considers this a gift, and snatches Alexander out of his cradle. He raised Alexander as the next Gwydion, until Alexander successfully transformed him into a cat. Alexander also discovered that Manannan had been in contact with a mysterious member of the Black Cloak Society known as "L". King's Quest III: To Heir is Human VGA Manannan hired a Nursemaid to steal Alexander from the royal family, and then killed her. He raised Alexander under the impression that his parents had been cursed, and he was lucky that the wizard had taken him in. During the course of one of his journeys, he visited Mordack to discuss his plans for the boy -- deciding he might send the body to Daventry when he is through. At the game's finale, Mordack arrives at Manannan's House and retrieves his feline brother, then sets the place on fire. This ending, however, leaves the question: where does Derek Karlavaegen live in this version of the universe? The Silver Lining Manannan, it is revealed is Alexander's grandfather, and father of Valanice. He was under orders from the Black Cloak Society when he kidnapped Alexander. The Society did not wish to have Alexander killed, and Manannan seems to have planned to follow those orders through. This is all expressed in a letter presented to Graham by Shamir Shamazle. The evil wizard appears in Alexander's dream stating precisely this, implying that Alexander's subconscious knows it to be true. ZZT Universe Breast Intentions Manannan hired two men to kidnap Alexander, rather than commiting the deed himself. Cassima's Quest Revenge of the Black Cloak Society Real World Manannan is the name of the Celtic god of the sea and of weather, and the son of Lir. Except for in the fan-made games, Manannan's relationship with Hagatha is never referenced. It was revealed in the game King's Questions. He appears in King's Quest III: To Heir is Human and King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder, as well as four fan-games: King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones (mention only) and King's Quest III Redux by AGDI; King's Quest III: To Heir is Human VGA by IA; and The Silver Lining by PO Studios. In KQ lore he is not said to be part of the Society of the Black Cloak (but nothing specifically denies it either) although this can be said of any of the KQ villains. Before the development of KQ6; Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen had discussed the possibility loosely of putting Manannan, Mordack, and Abdul Alhazred as a group (Note: that in KQ5 Manannan, Mordack and the Vizier are all mentioned as affiliated with Mordack, but they are not connected to each other directly). While the idea of the group evolved into the Black Cloaks and made it into the game with at least Shamir Shamazel, Abdul, and Shadrack representing it (and possibly Mordack, although he is not specifically said to be a brother, but has had dealings with Shadrack). None of the early discussion ever materialized. In hindsight Roberta wishes she had done something with it, but never had the chance to do so. Point of Trivia, Mordack was still a member of the Society of Wizards (when he was defeated by Graham); which would seem kind of antithetical to the Black Cloaks, although the Society of Wizards appears to be neutral towards most dark magic (the society was probably created by Crispin before or during the first withdrawal during the truce by all colors of magic) but it frowns on the darkest forms of magic (ones that could destroy their world they had withdrawn to). In the end Manannan's role in the early concept never materialized, and nothing was set in stone, and Mordack's role is vague. Roberta never refuted the idea exactly, but many of the official sources never linked Manannan to the group either (linking him to two other organizations altogether). The King's Quest Companion created alternative group concept the family of Evil which was antithesis to the family of Good (Royal Family (KQ)), but only Mordack, Hagatha, and Manannan were members (Josh Mandel and others confirmed the familial relationship in King's Questions). "The "Black Cloak Society" was never an actual term that I instigated or thought up. I'm not actually sure where that came from. The closest thought that I have on that subject is that: when I was working with Jane Jensen on King's Quest 6, and we thought up the evil vizier, we talked loosely about the possibility of putting Manannan, Mordack, and the vizier together as group -- possibly -- in a future King's Quest. There was loose reference to the possibility in King's Quest 6, although nothing was set in stone at that time. I think that it's possible that Jane Jensen might have mentioned the possibility (perhaps) in subsequent interviews on the subject, although, I'm not sure about that. Later on, I heard about the Black Cloak Society and kind of wondered where that phrase came from, but, I never refuted it as I thought it was kind of cool and, probably, would have gone on with the idea in future King's Quests had I had the chance. And, one final thing: Hagatha was never part in any discussion of a Black Cloak Society. - Roberta Williams at SierraGamers (6-9-2003) External Links *King's Quest Omnipedia Category:King's Quest Villains Category:King's Quest Characters Category:KQ3 Characters Category:Romancing the Stones Characters Category:KQ5 Characters Category:KQ3+ Characters Category:Magicians Guild Members Category:KQ3R Characters Category:KQ ZZT Characters Category:KQ2.5 Characters Category:KQ Human Characters Category:KQ Feline Characters Category:KQ Wizard Characters Category:KQ Magician Characters Category:Members of the Black Cloak Society Category:Family of Great Evil Members Category:KQ Reoccuring Characters